I’m glad we turned right instead of left because we got to see the residential area of Pomona. A very nice town, with average, obviously middle-class houses. You know – where the real people live.
On to Yorba Linda. You may be noticing a pattern here. We both like history and enjoy visiting presidential libraries and/or museums. We could take in an art museum, the natural beauty all around us is more than sufficient. Most people, including us, would think that the Nixon Library would be at San Clemente – a.k.a “The Western White House”. Richard and Pat Nixon owned an estate in San Clemente from 1969 to the late 80’s. It is to SC that they retired when he resigned the presidency in 1974.
But Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, and his library is on the grounds of the citrus orchard his family owned. In fact, the library is built in a U-shape around the very house he was born in. The house was not moved here, it is in its original location. Nixon and 3 of his brothers were born in this house. A fifth boy, Edward, who is still living in Seattle, was quite a bit younger and was born after the family moved to Whittier, CA. They said he visits often, and with his remarkable resemblance to the President, it makes for many double-takes!
It may be because we went to Reagan’s library on a weekend and Nixon’s on a weekday, or it may be the popularity of the two, but there were far fewer people at Nixon’s library on Monday than at Reagan’s last Saturday. Having said that, this library was no less impressive. It is an accurate reflection of Nixon’s entire life and the times, his triumphs (opening relations with mainland China, ending the war in Vietnam, lowering the voting age to 18, fulfilling Kennedy’s dream of landing a man on the moon, coming to the aid of Israel in its war in 1973 which ensured victory ) and his failures – most notably Watergate and his resignation. His presidency is forever marked by the scandal that ended it, but we were reminded also of his resiliency. Hopefully, you too, will see this after reading further.
We did not know much about Nixon’s childhood or young adult years. Through pictures, letters, diaries and yearbooks, we learned he was the proverbial “most likely to succeed” type of guy. You know – Mr. All-Around Everything.
Nixon went on to serve in both the House of Representatives and Senate before being put on the ticket with Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. His involvement in the Alger Hiss spy case put him in the national eye. His place in the ticket was put in jeopardy when false stories began circulating that he took bribes. This led to the famous “Checkers” speech. Whereas TV hurt him in the debates with John Kennedy 8 years later, he appeared on national television to explain his position and asked the public to decide if he should keep running with Eisenhower or not. The response was overwhelmingly positive. (if you can’t remember the Checkers speech, email me and I’ll be happy to give you the Cliff notes version!)
He was the second youngest vice-president and with Ike’s blessing, Nixon re-defined the role of vice-president. He traveled extensively, acting much like a Secretary of State does today. He had 14 years of public service behind him when he ran for President against Kennedy. (much more than a certain someone that occupies the Oval Office today – oops, sorry).
After that defeat, and an unsuccessful run for Governor of Calf., Nixon uttered his famous line to the press – “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” as many, including himself, thought he was out of the public eye forever.
His years as President included detailed displays of his historic trip to China, the exploration of the moon, Vietnam, and ended with Watergate.
I could have spent the entire day in this section. So much information to read, so many buttons to push to hear the actual recordings of conversations in the Oval Office (except for the infamous 18 minute gap, which experts have tried to restore with no luck). Nixon’s interview with David Frost could also be viewed.
The library also included a replica of the Lincoln Sitting Room. Nixon preferred to showcase this room because it was his favorite room in the White House and it is one the public does not get a chance to see because it is upstairs in the private residence.
One wing was a celebration of the centennial of Nixon’s birth, 1913-2013. Last year this same section housed the centennial celebration of Pat Nixon’s birth.
There were also galleries that displayed both Tricia and Julie Nixon’s wedding gowns, along with inaugural gowns that Pat wore.
A section was dedicated to Nixon’s emergence in his latter years as an elder statesman whose opinions on foreign policy were sought out and highly regarded by every president after him.
At the end of a wing was a full size re-creation of the White House East Room, with photographs of events that have taken place in that room from, viewing of Presidential caskets that have lain in state to Tricia Nixon Cox’s wedding reception.
Behind the library is Pat’s rose garden, and the burial site of the former President and First Lady. Beyond that is Nixon’s birthplace. We were allowed to tour the inside – all the furniture is original. The volunteer tour guide relayed an interesting story. An elderly gentleman touring the house said he too, like Nixon, grew up without indoor plumbing and now he sees people programming their DVR’s from their cell phones. All in his lifetime! Amazing, when you think about it!
A few steps away is the exact Marine One helicopter that Nixon rode from the White House lawn to Andrews Air Force base on the day of his resignation. Again we were able to go inside, but per Secret Service rules, could not take pictures inside. During Eisenhower and Nixon’s years as president, the helicopter carrying them could be called Marine One or Army One, depending on which branch of the service was piloting the aircraft. Today, the job falls solely with the Marine Corp.
Nixon was a complex man. On one hand he could order the creation of “The Plumbers” unit that conducted several illegal break-ins and on the other hand he refused, when Eisenhower offered to pay for it, a recount effort in his close election with Kennedy when evidence of voting irregularities surfaced. He said the nation needed a president and not be mired down for weeks during a recount.
He tried to use the FBI, CIA, and IRS in unauthorized ways to dig up “dirt” to discredit those he felt were threats to his administration, but he championed the cause of the environment with the creation of the EPA.
He struggled with accepting President Ford’s unconditional pardon (when Ford said the nation needed to move forward and not be mired down with an impeachment trial) because he knew it was going to be political suicide for Gerald Ford.
So folks, that is your history lesson for today! (I think I wrote more about Nixon than Reagan. Certainly not because I admire him more. I told Mike I felt a need to point out more positive things about him). Which leads me to a new career opportunity I discovered for myself while visiting the Nixon library – a docent. A docent is a volunteer who gives guided tours or just waits to be asked questions. The Nixon library had them everywhere. We did a guided tour of one wing of the library with one, and there was one at the birthplace home and Marine One. You could not go in either without the docent. The docent at Marine One was a retired policeman who likes history and likes people. That’s me! Except for the retired policeman part. . .
We left Yorba Linda and drove straight south to the coast. We had made arrangements to meet someone for dinner. We went down to Newport Beach (home of John Wayne) and then took the Pacific Coast Highway south to Dana Point, traveling through Laguna Beach on our way. We are trying to travel on this Highway 1 in the car as much as possible rather than with the RV due to small towns (stop and go traffic) and windy cliff roads. We are rewarded with some great views of the Pacific Ocean and cliffs and stretches of sandy beaches.
We met Gentry Ferguson, a long-time friend of Sarah’s, who lives in Encinitas, so Dana Point was about half-way for both of us. (at the Nixon library, we learned that Dick proposed to Pat at Dana Point!) We have few pictures of Sarah in high school that Gentry isn’t in. They were friends from the fourth grade. She looked great and likes living in southern California. It was SO good to see her – there were laughs and a few tears. She was a balm to our souls.
We are now on the road to a campground near Yosemite National Park. Mike just informed me I have been working on this for 4 hours! But I type, I think, I type, we pull over into a rest stop for a lunch of egg salad sandwiches and apples, I type, I call the campground to ensure a space and I type. Our first several hours were very mountainous driving – something that continues to surprise both of us. The last few hours have been flat – easier driving and better fuel mileage!
Pictures today are: a view from the library out to the birthplace; inside the library; a "woody" used in Nixon's Senate race, but also because a woody is "so California"; a clever way to demonstrate how Americans got their news from watching TV; statues of world leaders who Nixon said made a difference, including Churchill, DE Gaulle, Golda Meir, Sadat, Khrushchev, a picture near a section of the Berlin Wall that was heart-wrenching to me – I hope you can read it; the Lincoln sitting room, a draft of a speech for Nixon in case something happened with the moon landing; Pat and Richard; their burial site; this birthplace; Mike with the “Nixon send-off” boarding Marine One; me at the entrance to the library; a unique thing California has when entering busy freeways – a stop light where you can only proceed to merge onto the freeway when you have a green light; and me and Gentry!
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